Faschingdienstag, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday

Welcome to carnival. So today Miss Kate Shuipis and I set out in search of the Natural History Museum and some candy. As we reached the main market area, we ran into crowds of costumed people along Lange Strasse...we seem to have stumbled upon a parade. Somehow I missed that memo, but we stuck around to see just what the Germans have to offer for such marching festivities. Here are some things we observed:

1) there are many more cheerleading teams than could possibly go with all the sports teams.
2) it's acceptable to be pelted in the head with large, unwieldy pieces of candy.
3) it's also acceptale to push in front of others along the sidewalk (o that you have a better view of the parade, if you:
a) are ~55 year old asian woman
b) want to knock others over while darting for the candy so that the little kids can't have it
c) aspire to be generally annoying
4) there was no real flow to the parade. there were big crowded sections and then no one would walk by for about 5 minutes. the key is s-p-a-c-i-n-g!

Anyways, it was an adventure, and as always, my town continues to surprise me with unexpected treats. Time to warm up!